The Last Lecture

by Randy Pausch

[warning: this is the review of a depressed person.]

The author, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, was diagnosed with fatal pancreatic cancer. This slim book is part biography and part a reproduction of the "last lecture" he gave on how to live life to the fullest. He tells of meeting and wooing his wife, his love for his kids, and the dreams he got to live out through his career.

He's quick with the motivational poster aphorisms such as "a brick wall is there to show you how much you want to get to the other side – it's there to keep out the others who don’t want it enough" and more pithy bits of advice such as "tell the truth," "a bad apology is worse than no apology," and "things are less important than people." I read this book in a low period, trying to get inspired, and I guess it's fairly helpful to get a sense of perspective – even though Pausch's life had meaning mine lacks.